Seam inverting machine for overlock stitched seam



Oct. 25, 1960 s. LEVENSTEIN ETAL 2,957,437

SEAM INVERTING MACHINE FOR OVERLOCK STITCHED SEAM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledFeb. 20, 1959 INVENTORS Zazzl L we Ze' 5 Le Sal alzfz y m BY M 6% RNEYOct. 25, 1960 4 s. LEVENSTEIN ETAL 2,957,437

SEAM INVEIRTING MACHINE FOR OVERLOCK STITCHED SEAM Filed Feb. 20, 1959 2Sheets-Sheet 2 T0 MOTOR 57 56 INVENTORS Siazzley Lemzzsfiz'zz Z60 aga/fly BY M Q ATTORNEY United States Patent SEAM INVERTING MACHINE FOROVERLOCK STITCHED SEAM sanit Levenstein, 256 St. Marks Ave., Freeport,N.Y., and Leo Soloway, 805A Linden Blvd., Brooklyn, N.Y.

Filed Feb. 20, 1959, Ser. No. 794,777

8 Claims. (Cl. 112203) edge stitch binding seam employing anoveredge-stitch j is illustrated in Figs. 7-9 of the drawings herein, tofacilitate understanding of the novel seam-inverting and panel 5'stretching operations carried out in accordance with the g invention.

l] lustratively, the perspective fragment showing the garment seam 100in Fig. 7 herein is of a girdle 1 having panel 101 formed of two-waystretch fabric and of an elastic one-way stretch band 102 which may bepositioned either as a leg band or as a waist band, and is shown inoverlying relation to panel 101 and stitched by the compoundoveredge-stitch seam 102. The compound overedge stitch seam 102 isformed by the so-called overedge sewing machine employing one threadedneedle, one threaded looper and one blind looper. In preparing the seamdisclosed in Fig. 7 on such a machine, the machine would have one needlethreaded with thread designated 100, the blind looper threaded withthread designated by the numeral 111, and the looper threaded with thethread designated by the numeral 110. The machine has its overedgelooper timed so that needle thread 100 is interlocked at the bottom ofthe work, e.g., panel 101 of the girdle, with the needle thread 110 atthe top of the work, namely, stretchable elastic band 103. As shown inFig. 7, the looper thread is interlocked at the top of the work, e.g.,one-way stretch elastic band 102, as well as at the bottom of the work,cross stretchable panel 101 of the girdle 1, with both of the looperthreads 110 and 111 or thread 110 alone.

After this overedge binding operation just described, the elastic bandin edge lies in overlying relation to the panel 101 of the sewn garment1 as shown in Fig. 7, and in sectional view along line 8-8 ofFig. 8. Itis customary to invert the band by hand to rotate band 102 by 180 in aclockwise direction as shown in Fig. 9, thereby disposing the outer edgeof the panel 101 and the inner edge of band 102 in edge-to-edge abuttingrelation as required by placing the finished garment in the condition inwhich it is to be worn.

, In contrast to this hand inverting operation practiced heretofore, thepresent invention provides a machine for inverting a longitudinallyextending elastic band seamed to a fabric work piece with a compoundoveredge-stitch fiom an edge overlying relation of eleastic band to workpiece to an edge-to-edge abutting relation of elastic band to workpiece, said machine comprising first and second pairs of fabric engagingrollers for engaging the band and work piece, respectively, driving andmounting shafts for the upper rollers of the first and second pairs ofrollers, driving and mounting shafts for the lower rollers of the firstand second pairs of rollers each of the driving and mounting shafts ofthe first pair of rollers being disposed at an angle lying between about20 to about 43 preferably between about 35 to about 43 to each of thedriving and mounting shafts of the second pair of rollers, couplingmeans connecting the rollers driving and mounting shafts of the lowerrollers and like coupling means connecting the driving and mountingshafts of the upper rollers.

By feeding an unfolded edge of the elastic band into the bite betweenthe first pair of fabric engaging rollers having its axis at an angle ofbetween about 20 to about 43 to the axis of the second pair of fabricengaging rollers, the rotation of the rollers effects a driven fricbandinto the bite of the second pair of fabric engaging rollers, therotation of the rollers effects a driven frictional divergent movementof the band and work piece respectively, to permit high speed invertingoperations to be carried out by relatively unskilled operators.

Heretofore machines comprising separately driven roller pairs, eachfurnished with its own speed control motor means have been utilized forother uses, such as to iron continuous, inetgral fabric webs at theedges and stretch these to standard Width as is required during thefinishing operation grey goods manufacture. These roller machines havenot been used in finishing operations after the garment has been cut,assembled and sewn for the reason that garments vary widely in size andquality and such machines would have to be adjusted for each garmentpressed therein. These roller machines include mechanical and electronicguides and control devices to separately pull each of the opposite edgesof stock grey goods and webs to bring the fiat Web to a standard width.These electronic and mechanical control devices permit automaticoperation on the web stock material prior to and after the variousfinishing operations carried out with liquid textile treating agents dueto the fact that but a single adjustment is sufiicient to completehundreds or thousands of yards of fabric web which is stretched tostandard dimension.

These roller devices of the prior art have been tried by the presentinventors for inverting the seams of finished stitched garments to whichelastic bands are attached by overedge-stitch seams but have found themto be unsatisfactory. It appears that the reason that the devices havenot been practical to produce high speed inverting of banded work piecesis that seperate motor drives of the ironing machine must be broughtinto exact synchronism and a separate width adjustment must be madebetween the rollers when each change in garment size is made. The widthadjustment track, the speed synchronism device and the speed controlelements each must be adjusted for each garment to necessarily renderthe machine so diflicult to operate as to prohibit economic use of themachine for inverting seams of elastic banded garments.

The machine of the present invention is capable of inverting the seamsof finished garments at a surprisingly rapid rate employing relativelyunskilled operators. By hand these operators can invert the seams ofonly about from two to three garments a minute. In contrast, with therollers of the machine of the present invention revolving at 300 r.p.m.inverting speed for the complete run of sizes of manufactured girdlescan be made at the rate of 20 garments per minute.

By employing a roughened elastomeric surface, e.g.', rubber, plastic,etc., on one of the rollers of the first pair of fabric engaging rollersand a smooth highly polished metal surface on the other of said rollersof machine.

said pair of rollers, a uniform driving action is attained forpropelling the garment through the rollers of the The top rollers of thefirst and second pairs are like in respect to their surfacecharacteristics and similarly the bottom rollers are alike. In apreferred embodiment, illustrated herein, the top rollers are rubber andthe bottom rollers highly polished stainless steel.

When the seamed band has been inverted by the machine the location ofthe garment at the storage location at the end of the machine dependupon the angle of feed of the gannent to the first pair of rollers. Tofacilitate uniform collecting of finished garments with seams in theinverted position a guide member is pro vided along the side of thefirst pair of rollers to thereby provide the same angle of feed for allgarments fed to the machine. A preferred guide member is an arcuateU-member of arch which facilitates guiding the garment along both sideedges.

Separation of the rollers to control the bite and the driving forceimparted to differing thicknesses of garments is facilitated byemploying levered separators urged into closing position by spring meansand into open positions by adjusting screws and by a foot treadle leverarrangement.

In order to facilitate understanding, reference will be had to theappended drawings illustrative of certain arrangements, means and modesof operation embraced by this invention, and in such drawings:

Fig. l is a plan view of a machine in accordance with the presentinvention;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view with parts removed, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 2, andlooking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2, andlooking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2, andlooking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a work piece and band in overlyingrelation and joined together by a compound overedge-stitch;

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7; and

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8, but showing the band in invertedposition after having passed through the machine of the presentinvention.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used todesignate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views,there is shown in Fig. l a seam inverting machine embodying the presentinven tion. At the left hand of the machine 10 there may be seen avariable speed driving unit. Near the right hand end of the machinethere is provided a seam inverting roller unit 12 comprising lower steelroller 34 and upper roughened rubber surfaced roller 36 for engaging theband 102. A similar pair of rollers, lower steel roller 42 and upperroughened roller 43, comprise the panel engaging roller unit 14 at thefar right hand end of the machine as shown in Fig. 2.

A treadle operated separator unit 13 is shown in Fig. 3, this unitserving to separate the lower steel rollers of roller unit 12 and rollerunit 14 from the upper rubber rollers thereof, as will be explained indetail hereinafter.

The entire machine may be mounted upon a base support 15. On the basesupport 15 there is mounted a bearing 16, for supporting the upperdriving shaft and a second bearing 17 is mounted therebelow for lowerdriving shaft 21 (see Fig. 5). Spaced from bearings 16 and 17 is a fixedbearing 18 carried by a support arm, and it will be understood that thebearings 16 and 18 are coplanar. Underlying the fixed bearing 18 is amovable bearing 19 that is carried by a movable support arm..

A first upper roller shaft 20 is journaled in the bearings 16 and 18 anda first lower roller shaft 21 is journalei in the movable bearings 17and 19.

Referring to Fig. 4, there may be seen a fulcrum pin 22 for the bearingand fixed support arm 18 for the upper roller shaft. Fulcrum pin 22 ismounted in an aperture in fulcrum support plate 24, which is in turnmounted on the support 15 on the spacer block 33, through an aperture 25and the fulcrum support plate there extends a lifter arm 26 that isadapted to separate the shaft 21 from the shaft 20. A collar stop 23 isattached to the lifter arm 26 above the fulcrum support plate 24, andmay abut next the underside of the base support 15. A spring 66 aroundthe upper end of the rod 26, and is held between the fixed support arm18 and a nut 69 that is screwed onto the screw threads 71 on the upperend of the rod 26.

Spaced from the rod 26 there is provided a second lifter rod 32 whichextends through an aperture 31 in the fulcrum plate 30. A collar stop 29is fixed to the rod 32 and abuts the underside of a bearing support arm28. A spring 68 surrounds the upper end of the rod 32 and extendsbetween the upper surface of the bearing arm 28 and a nut threaded onthe screw threaded end of the rod 32.

Referring now to Fig. 2, there may be seen on the lower roller shaft 21a middle roller 34 having a tapered end 35. A resilient rubber roller 36is mounted on the shaft 20, and forms, with roller 34, a pair ofwork-engaging rollers. Adjacent the roller 36, there is a universaljoint 38 connecting the first upper shaft 20 with a second upper shaft40. Instead of a universal joint, a flexible shaft coupling ofconventional construction (not illustrated) may be used. Underlying theuniversal joint 38 there is provided a like universal joint that couplesthe first roller shaft 21 with the second roller shaft 41. I

Mounted on the lower fixed bearing of the second roller shaft 41 is aroller 42 that is made of steel, and is similar to the roller 34.Forming a pair with the roller 36 is a resilient roller '43 mounted onthe second upper shaft 40. The upper shaft is carried in the bearing end44 of an arch 45, which arch 45 has a depending leg 46 that serves as awork drive. An extension 47 of the leg 46 is secured to the support baseof the machine.

The variable speed driving unit 11, shown at the lefthand side of Figs.1 and 2, and also in Fig. 3, comprises a housing 50 having a drivinggear 51 rotatably mounted therein. Gear 51 is driven by a speed reducinggear 52 that is fixed to a gear driven by the pinion 55. Pinion 55 ismounted on a shaft that is in turn driven by .a pulley 56 having agroove therein to receive the belt 57. The belt 57 may be driven fromany convenient source of power, such as an electric motor. The gear 51is fixedly connected with a shaft, that is in turn connected with theshaft 20.

As may be seen in Fig. 5, a gear 53 on the shaft 20 meshes with a gear54 on the shaft 21, and since the gears 53 and 54 are the same size, itwill be apparent that the shafts 20 and 21 will be driven at thesamespeed. It is to be noted that the bearing 17, shown in Fig. 5, isimmediately mounted so that the shaft 21 may be moved toward or awayfrom the shaft 20; of course, the movement of the bearing 17 is limitedso that the gears 53 and 54 are always in driving relationship with eachother.

The position of the roller 36 relative to the roller 34 is shown in Fig.6, wherein it may be seen that the surfaces of these rollers are incontact with each other in the operating position.

Referring now to Fig. 3, there may be seen a treadle 60 pivotallymounted on a peddle fulcrum 61. A connecting rod 62 is pivotallyconnected to one end of the treadle 60, and is pivotally connected atits other end to =base 15. The opposite end of the lever 63 is pivotallyconnected with the lifter rod 62. The parts 62 and 63 may be duplicated,as shown in Fig. 2, to thereby connect with the lifting rod 32, also.

The shafts 20 and 21 are substantially parallel to each :other, and theshafts 40 and 41 are substantially parallel to each other. and 41 are atan angle of between about 20 and about The shafts 20 and 40 and theshafts 21 43 to each other. We have found that the above mentionedangular relationship between the shafts is essential in order to providea satisfactory and completely workable device. If the shafts aredisposed at an angle below twenty degrees, the machine will not functionfor normal size garments intended for human use. If the shafts aredisposed at a greater angle to each other than about 43, the problem ofproviding suitable driving connection between them has been found to beinsurmountable, from a practical viewpoint.

In operation, the belt 57 is driven to thereby drive the shafts 20 and21. The shafts 40 and 41 will be driven by the shafts 20 and 21,respectively, by the universal couplings 38 and 39, respectively. Agarment, such as above noted, is taken by the operator, and it will beunderstood that the band 102 is joined to the work piece or panel 101 bystitching, as shown in Fig. 7, and is in overlying relation thereto,also as shown in Fig. 7. The operator grabs the work piece or panel 101in one hand, and a part of the band .102 in the other hand and moves hisor her hands apart, thus performing an unfolding operation on the band102, and by rotating the hand holding the band 102, thereby inverts theband 102. By continuing to move the two hands apart, the operator willefiect a stretching apart of the Work piece 101 and band 102, and thusthe work piece 101 and band 102 will be brought into alignedrelationship, at least at the pant grabbed. Then by releasing the band102, the band 102 will be brought into abutting edge-to-edge contactwith the work piece or panel 101, and that section of the garment willbe as shown in Fig. 9. This entire action may be performed in a matterof a few seconds.

The part of the garment with the band 102 inverted is then moved towardsthe seam inverting roller unit 12, and the band 102 is placed betweenthe rollers 34 and 36, while the panel or work piece 101 is placed inthe nip of the rollers 42 and 43. As the garment is caused to movethrough the two pairs of rollers, the above-described hand operationwill be repeated by the machine, to thus stretch the band .102 and thepanel 101 and to invert the band 102 into the position shown in Fig. 9throughout its length.

-It will be understood that the springs 66 and 68 urge the outer ends ofthe members 18 and 28 downwardly, to thereby urge the bearing endsupwardly so as to yieldingly urge the lower shafts 21 and 41 upwardly.Thus, the lower rollers 34 and 42 are yieldingly urged into contact withthe upper rollers 36 and 43. Also, by reversing the treadle 60 themembers 18 and 28 may be rotated so as to oppose the action of thesprings 66 and 68, to thereby separate the lower rollers from the upperrollers, in order to aid in the introduction of the band and garmenttherebetween.

The invention is defined in the claims which follow.

We claim:

1. A machine for inverting a longitudinally extending elastic bandseamed to a fabric work piece with a compound over-edge-stitch from anedge overlying relation to an edge-to-edge abuting relation of said bandto said work piece comprising first and second pairs of fabric engagingrollers for engaging the band and work piece respectively, driving andmounting shafts for the upper rollers of said first pair and said secondpair of rollers, driving and mounting shafts for the lower rollers ofsaid first pair and second pair of rollers, each of the driving shaftsof said first pair of rollers being disposed at an angle to each of saiddriving shafts of said second pair of rollers of between 20 and 43,geared means operatively connected with said first upper and lowershafts for driving said shafts at the same speed, coupling meansconnecting the roller driving and mounting shafts of the upper rollersand coupling means connecting the roller driving and mounting shafts ofthe lower rollers.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the angle between saiddriving shafts lies between 35 to 43.

3. -A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said fabric engaging rollersof said first and second pairs of rollers comprise upper rollers whichare covered with roughened elastomeric material and lowersmooth-surfaced metal rollers.

4. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said coupling means is aflexible coupling member.

5. A machine as claimed in claim 4 wherein said coupling means is auniversal joint.

6. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said lower rollers of saidfirst and second pairs of fabric engaging rollers are operativelyconnected to roller separating means and a foot treadle for actuatingsaid roller separating means to separate the upper rollers and lowerrollers of each of said pairs of rollers.

7. A machine for inverting the seam between a fabric work piece and alongitudinally stretchable band joined to and overlying said work pieceby a compound overedge chain-stitch comprising a base, a first pair ofaxially aligned bearings fixedly mounted on said base, a first upperroller shaft journaled in said first pair of bearings, a third bearingsubstantially coplanar with said first pair of bearings and carried bysaid base, a second upper roller shaft journaled in said third bearing,a universal joint drivingly connecting said first and second upperroller shafts, fourth and fifth substantially coplanar bearings lyingbelow the level of said first three bearings, a first lower roller shaftjournaled in said fourth bearing and underlying said first upper rollershaft, a second lower roller shaft journaled in said fifth bearing andunderlying said second upper roller shaft, a universal joint drivinglyconnecting said lower roller shafts and underlying said universal jointconnecting said upper shafts, a first pair of rollers fixed on saidsecond shafts, the upper roller of each pair having a resilient surfaceand the lower roller of each pair having an unyielding surface, gearedmeans operatively connected with said first upper and lower shafts fordriving said shafts at the same speed, said first upper and lower shaftsbeing at an angle between 20 and 43 with said second upper and lowershafts, respectively, whereby a band in edge overlying relation to afabric work piece and stitched thereto by a compound overedge stitchseam is rotated through to dispose it in edge-to-edge abutting relationto said work piece by feeding said band between said first pair ofrollers and said work piece between said second pair of rollers, theseam being inverted between said upper and lower shafts.

8. The machine of claim 7 and further comprising a treadle and meansoperatively connecting said treadle and said fourth and fifth bearingsfor movement toward and away from said upper shafts.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,354,514 Seymour Oct. 5, 1920 1,645,036 Bacon Oct. 11, 1927 2,131,621Greicius Sept. 27, 1938 2,198,656 Cohn et al. Apr. 30, 1940 2,367,145Sheldon Jan. 9, 1945 2,688,176 Birch Sept. 7, 1954 2,718,046 SuttonSept. 20, 1955

